Southern California -- this just in

NFL's Eric Wright arrested in L.A. on felony DUI charge

July 2, 2012 | 11:16
am

Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Eric Wright was arrested on suspicion of felony driving under the influence near Staples Center downtown early Monday after being involved in an injury accident, Los Angeles police said.

Police responded to a report of an injury accident about 12:20 a.m. involving a Chevy Silverado pickup and a Mercedes SLS luxury sports coup at James M. Wood Boulevard and Georgia Street, said Norma Eisenman, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Police Department.

Wright, who was not hurt, allegedly told officers he had been drinking earlier at a friend's home in the Hollywood area and refused to submit to a Breathalyzer or field sobriety test, Eisenman said. The driver of the truck complained of pain but refused medical treatment.

Officers booked Wright on a felony because the accident involved injury. He was booked into the LAPD's downtown Metropolitan Detention Center in lieu of $100,000 bail.

The incident Monday is not Wright's first scrape with the law.

The former USC starter transferred to the University of Nevada Las Vegas in 2005 amid possible disciplinary action by the school after an arrest on suspicion of rape. Police said they later found 136 Ecstasy pills in his apartment.

But Los Angeles County prosecutors, citing insufficient evidence, did not file charges.

The 5-foot-10, 190-pound cornerback recently signed a contract with the Buccaneers worth more than $37 million after stints with the Detroit Lions and Cleveland Browns.